Two historic jerseys sold for nearly $3.9 million combined, while a pair of bats from two baseball legends brought in another million in Heritage Auctions’ Spring Sports Catalog sale.
The auction was led by a 1920 Walter Johnson Washington Senators jersey that netted just over $2 million. Photo matching efforts indicate the jersey appears to have been on Johnson’s back during Babe Ruth’s first game as a member of the New York Yankees.
The flannel shirt attributed to use by Johnson was originally in the hands of Eric “Swat” Erickson, a Swedish-born teammate of Johnson’s. A letter from his granddaughter revealed that Erickson “built a farmhouse in Jamestown, New York upon his retirement from baseball after the 1922 season and stored all of his baseball keepsakes in that family home where his granddaughter was living when the jersey entered the collecting hobby in the early 2000’s.” A private collector who had acquired it put it up for auction through Heritage. The jersey was last sold in June of 2006 for $352,000.
A 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers jersey tied to use by Sandy Koufax during his rookie season with the Brooklyn Dodgers was the second highest selling item, bringing in $1.8 million.
The list of valuable Baseball Hall of Fame gamers also included New York Giant Carl Hubbell’s game-worn MVP-season jersey from 1936-39, which sold for $87,000; a photo-matched St. Louis Cardinals jersey dating from Stan Musial’s MVP season of 1943, which realized $180,147; and a game-worn Warren Spahn Milwaukee Braves jersey photo-matched to the ’54 season, which realized $102,000. From the era of vest uniform tops, Reggie Jackson’s Oakland A’s uniform photo-matched to his career-high 57-home-run season of 1969 sold for $99,000.
An early 1920s Ty Cobb Louisville Slugger bat also drew a crowd of interested bidders with an eye for history. The 34 1/2″, 40.7 ounce club with possible ties to 1922– the last year in which he hit .400–went for $630,000.
A Mickey Mantle bat dating to 1953 and presented to a youngster in his home state of Oklahoma prior to the ’54 season, netted $324,000.
A Hank Aaron glove photomatched to 1973 and once in the possession of a Milwaukee Brewers executive, went for $210,000.
“This auction had some incredible game-used material, and we saw some real strength in the performance of the game-worn fielder’s gloves, which is great to see,” says Chris Ivy, Director of Sports Auctions at Heritage. “It was inevitable that collectors would eventually turn their attention to gloves as that market continues to mature.”
In all, the three-day auction brought in more than $21 million. The auction garnered 3,650 bidders worldwide on its way to near-sellout results.
In addition to the memorabilia sold, there were plenty of cards crossing the block. A 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle graded 7.5 by SGC, set a new record for the grade at $564,000. A 1952 Topps master set, with 491 graded cards including a PSA 6 Mantle, went for $264,000. A 1915 Cracker Jack Ty Cobb #30 PSA 4 (pop 14) set an all-time high when it sold for $63,000. George Brett’s rookie card was also an auction highlight: One of 11 Gem Mint 10s on PSA’s registry realized $150,000.
The auction included dozens of unopened material, topped by a 1961-62 Fleer Basketball box of 24 packs that ended at $372,000. A PSA 9 copy of the ’61-62 Wilt Chamberlain rookie card also crossed the six-figure plateau, bringing in $198,000.
A 1948 Bowman Baseball unopened wax pack graded PSA 7 went for $138,000 while a PSA 8 copy of the 1951 Bowman Willie Mays rookie card ended at $186,000.
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